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The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation, which operates the C-54 that you may have seen on the air show circuit, also owns a Boeing C-97.  The C-97 has been in the HARP Hangar at Floyd Bennett Field for the past 15 years undergoing restoration.  They have finally completed all the work, and are prepared to fly it out.  They attempted to depart today, however an issue with one engine scrubbed the attempt.  They actually taxied out to the runway ready for takeoff when they discovered the issue.  If all goes well, they may try again on Thursday.

 

Here are some photos from today's attempt.

 

JM_2017_05_31_BAHF_C-97_001-XL.jpg

 

JM_2017_05_31_BAHF_C-97_005-XL.jpg

 

JM_2017_05_31_BAHF_C-97_002-XL.jpg

 

JM_2017_05_31_BAHF_C-97_007-XL.jpg

 

JM_2017_05_31_BAHF_C-97_010-XL.jpg

 

JM_2017_05_31_BAHF_C-97_014-XL.jpg

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Very nice indeed!  Love to see the old Big Birds flying again.  Is there a B-36 in flyable condition?  I noticed that the USAF titles and serial number appear to be in generic arial font.  Is there a particular reason why?  I would think after that much effort and time, you would want to be accurate in the markings. Is it for a legal reason?

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2 hours ago, Dutch said:

I noticed that the USAF titles and serial number appear to be in generic arial font.  Is there a particular reason why?  I would think after that much effort and time, you would want to be accurate in the markings. Is it for a legal reason?

I don't know - they have been like that for the 10 years I've seen her in the hangar, they weren't recently added.

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What great pics of a beautiful aircraft.  Thanks for posting Moose!   Was surprised to hear it was based at Floyd Bennett Field.  For some reason I thought that place was shut down and only helos could operate out of it.  Must have a pretty long runway to support a C-97.

 

 

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On 6/2/2017 at 5:54 PM, Dutch said:

 I noticed that the USAF titles and serial number appear to be in generic arial font.  Is there a particular reason why?  I would think after that much effort and time, you would want to be accurate in the markings.

 

That's why the NYPD is issuing a citation. LOL

 

Moose,

Thank you for sharing these pics of that beautiful beast. A few years ago we were lucky enough to receive a C-133 over at Travis AFB. It was the same shade of well weathered aluminum. Rumor was they had so little fuel left when they landed they taxied in on two engines!

Edited by Jim S
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5 hours ago, 11bee said:

What great pics of a beautiful aircraft.  Thanks for posting Moose!   Was surprised to hear it was based at Floyd Bennett Field.  For some reason I thought that place was shut down and only helos could operate out of it.  Must have a pretty long runway to support a C-97.

 

 

 

FBF is closed, except for the NYPD Aviation Unit helicopters.  The runways are still there, and to a certain degree still usable.  They need to coordinate with JFK tower (among others) to operate fixed wing aircraft, as JFK is just across the bay from FBF.  The Historic Aircraft Restoration Project uses a hangar to store/restore/display a number of aircraft, and the C-97 was housed there.  The Berlin Airlift folks also used to keep their C-54 in the hangar for winter maintenance/storage, flying in after the show season ended in December and out again in March.  I think the last time they did that with the C-54 was March 2011, as per my photo below.  The runway they use is about 6,000 feet long, plenty for a lightly loaded C-97 - they were planning to take it to an airport in south New Jersey, less than an hour away.  About 10 years ago, they held a fly-in at FBF which included an ANG C-130 and several warbirds from my place, the American Airpower Museum, including our C-47, B-25, and a couple of our fighters.

 

JM_2011_03_11_BAHF_N500EJ_HDR_001-XL.jpg

 

Here's a look inside the HARP Hangar.  HARP and BAHF are not connected to one another.

http://www.moose135photography.com/Airplanes/Air-Museums/Floyd-Bennett-Field-HARP/i-3gsgSJ2

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Jim S said:

 

That's why the NYPD is issuing a citation. LOL

 

Moose,

Thank you for sharing these pics of that beautiful beast. A few years ago we were lucky enough to receive a C-133 over at Travis AFB. It was the same shade of well weathered aluminum. Rumor was they had so little fuel left when they landed they taxied in on two engines!

 

Thank you!

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